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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

There's only one thing worse than not blogging, and that's not blogging because you have nothing to blog about. You may have noticed a large dip in the amount of posting I've done. It's not you--it's me. At first, adding a second child into my routine/life wasn't too bad. Newborns really do sleep a lot (it's SO awful but it is true...comparatively). But age has caught up with both AB and Baby H. Nap time, that most sacred time to any stay at home mom, is elusive. AB is almost 4 and doesn't nap every day. Thus, she is awake and loud and temperamental when I need the baby to sleep. "Nap time ping-pong" is what I call it, bouncing between children so that they sleep in 20 minute increments.

No surprise, but sewing has taken such a backseat that it's not even in the vehicle anymore. I think I've made one garment in the last month. I've stopped buying patterns. I've stopped buying fabric. I've stopped reading blogs. And obviously, I've stopped blogging myself.

This is not even mentioning the weeks I've spent sick this fall. I swear I'm going to start sending AB to preschool in a bubble.

It's not fun. It's not glamorous. But it is a season. I waver between packing it all up and forcing myself to forget sewing, and feverishly ignoring my housework so I can find ten minutes of sanity. Like all parts of mothering, it's mostly an exercise in expectations.

Can I sew as much as I used to? No. Not even by half.

Can I blog? No. What is there to blog if I'm not sewing?

These are hard realizations. Sewing found me at a time in my life when I was redefining my identity. It's been a passion for almost four years. The thought of putting that on hold, however temporarily...sucks.

You may think that you're raising children, but really, becoming a mother means raising yourself quite a bit as well.

So it's time for adulting. That terror of terrors. Time to pull back on me and focus on my family. When your plate is too full, you have to take some things off. That's just how it is. And I like sleep, when I can get it.

If you see less of me in this corner of the internet, please forgive me. It's not that I don't want to be here. I just can't right now, emphasis on the right now.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Thanksgiving brought me some very tasty food, but also a new toy (literally?). My in-laws enjoy going to auctions and shopping for antiques, so they're always picking up vintage sewing items that they think I might like. May I present my new machine!

Okay, so it's not super impressive haha. You can see my Brother machine in the background for scale, and the squares on my cutting mat are 1". The decal says Holly Hobbie and I assume this is a toy. It's dated 1975 and is mostly plastic. The sad thing is, I cannot figure out how it works. Google isn't even helping me. If you're familiar with toy machines I would love some help! As you can see above, the bottom separates from the top once you loosen about 7 screws.

Here it is without the throat plate. There are feed dogs and a place for a needle. There was a broken needle in it when I got it.

The reason I can't figure out how it works is because there is no bobbin. No post for a bobbin (that I can see). There is only this weird copper piece below the feed dogs.

I don't see anything that would hold bobbin thread or move it up to connect with the needle.

Any ideas? Of course, there is the notion that it doesn't work at all. But it seems like it has all parts for a functioning top thread. There's even a tension knob. When you turn the handwheel, the whole thing appears to be doing SOMETHING.

I would love to get this working and have AB use it. She's going to break my machine if she keeps trying to sew on it. I like the idea of it being hand-powered so it can't run away from her.

I also scored a box of vintage presser feet.

A few are duplicates of what I already have for my Singer 15-91, and a few appear to be for a different type of machine, But still fun to have!

Kids have restricted me from much antique shopping or thrifting, so I always appreciate when someone gives me items like this. Do you shop for vintage sewing items?